فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The trade union and professional bodies of the press and publishing sector held a meeting on Thursday morning, January 8, 2026, with the executive bureau of the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT), chaired by its Secretary General Khalid Houir Alami, at the organization’s central headquarters in Casablanca. The meeting was devoted to examining recent developments related to Draft Law No. 25/26 governing the press and publishing sector, following its passage by the government.
This meeting comes amid a tense legislative context, after the draft law was adopted by a numerical majority in the House of Councillors, alongside a collective withdrawal of opposition components from the voting session and the submission of a motion requesting referral of the text to the Constitutional Court Morocco.
During the meeting, the union and professional bodies representing the sector—including the National Union of the Moroccan Press, the Moroccan Federation of Newspaper Publishers, the National Union of Press, Media and Communication, the National Union of Media and Journalism, and the Moroccan Confederation of Newspaper and Digital Media Publishers—reviewed the advocacy path they have pursued since the draft was introduced. Their aim, they said, has been to return the text to the table of social and legislative dialogue, in order to reach broader consensus and ensure the necessary legal and professional guarantees.
The bodies reported that they had sent official memoranda and correspondence and held a series of meetings with relevant institutions to alert authorities to what they consider constitutional and legal shortcomings in the draft. They noted that these shortcomings had already been highlighted in advisory opinions issued by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council Morocco and the National Council for Human Rights Morocco.
They also recalled the role played by opposition parliamentary groups, stating that their positions sought—according to the unions—to improve the legislative text and protect the profession as a vital and strategic sector, while expressing appreciation for what they described as a “responsible alignment” with professionals’ demands.
For his part, the Secretary General of the CDT considered that the passage of the draft law falls within what he described as a “unilateral legislative approach,” based on using numerical majority without regard for the logic of social dialogue or the positions of organizations directly concerned by the content of the text. He added that this approach, in his view, is not limited to the press sector, but reflects a broader method of handling other social and professional issues, contributing to heightened tensions and weakening trust in representative institutions.
The union leader stressed that any infringement on the principle of professional self-regulation through legislation lacking professional consensus constitutes a threat to press freedom and to one of the pillars of the rule of law. He argued that safeguarding media freedom requires a democratic will that respects the profession’s independence, rather than punitive approaches or imposed structures.
At the close of the meeting, the CDT affirmed that the press and publishing file is part of a broader struggle to defend rights and freedoms, reiterating its commitment to supporting the struggles of journalists and publishers and to engaging in all unifying initiatives aimed at preserving independent and democratic self-regulation, as a fundamental condition for protecting freedom of expression and professional dignity.
Source: Fes News Media
